The Missing Case of Lance McClain
by Smiles4Voltron
Summary: When Keith returned home, he was horrified to find his house trashed, and his boyfriend gone. With no clues to the scene, Keith is determined to find Lance at any cost. The question is; who took Lance, and for what purpose? Who can he trust? (lance goes missing, Keith goes to find him despite the police saying not to)
1. Chapter 1

When Keith stepped out of the meeting room, he quickly ducked to the right to take his hair down. Letting it flutter over his shoulders, he sighed.

Hunk watched with a sad expression, putting on a smile to comfort his friend, "I hope it is going well at least,"

"I think it is," Keith glanced at him, "Or it's going horrible, and I'm just delusional,"

Hunk chuckled then trailed off, eyeing the clock, "Keith, shouldn't you be heading home?" He inquired from the back, cleaning out the glasses with a dish towel.

Strolling over to the island table, Keith casually leaned against it and shook his head, "I can't," he tells the lovable bartender, "This meeting is drawing out. We are just on a break," Not that he enjoyed sharing their meeting at a bar in the first place; it was different simply because it was Hunk's place. He kept it clean, very classy.

"I don't know how you can keep up with those guys," Hunk shakes his head, "I don't understand half of what they are saying,"

"It's not easy," Keith shrugs, grateful when Hunk slides over a small drink to him. Knowing his friend would keep the glass light, especially for tonight, he chugged it down without much thought. Exhaling at the slight burning sensation of the alcohol, he handed the glass back to him.

"How long do you boys have left?"

"Not sure,"

"Lance must be waiting for you," Hunk shifts his gaze a little, like he wants to say something else but is holding back. Keith curses, glancing at the time. That's right; he told Lance he would be home 30 minutes ago.

Saluting Hunk, he steps away to pull out his phone. Quickly dialing his boyfriend's number he barely waited a second before there was an answer.

"Keith?"

"Hey, Babe," he moves to a quiet area, plugging his other ear to hear Lance better.

"You still at Hunk's?" Lance asked.

"The meeting-" Keith was cursing himself, "I'm so sorry Lance. I'm late. I know we agreed to have dinner tonight, but the meeting isn't even close to getting done. I might not be home until late," he kicks his shin, despising his inability to simply make time for the love of his life.

There is a small sigh from the other end, "This is the 5th time,"

Keith's heart aches, "I know," He wanted to say he would make it up to Lance, and they could share dinner a different night, but he had said that four times already. "Lance, honey I-"

There is a small chuckle, "It's okay, Keith,"

"What?" he could hardly believe his ears

"We'll just plan for another night. I know you've been busy and I know this is important to you,"

In fact, it had been Keith's dream for years. Shiro and him were finally going to open their own business, taking on the world together just like they had planned as children. Of course, Lance and Allura were apart of this scheme now, which Keith was thrilled about, but the planning and getting it all up, assuring that nothing went wrong, was drawing out.

He had to cancel every date for the last two months with Lance. The only time he seemed to see him anymore was early in the morning just before he headed out or late at night when Lance had already gone to bed for his own day at work.

They had been dating for over two years now, having met at college. Having crushed on Lance since their freshman year, he still couldn't believe someone as amazing as him loved a hot head like himself.

"I promised I'd be there," Keith sighs heavily. He new Allura and Shiro had been having similar problems with their relationship, but he still managed to make time for her and didn't cancel five dates in a row….

Keith needed to ask what his secret was.

"And you'll just be back a little later than planned," there is a soft undertone to Lance's voice. It's hard for Keith to tell if Lance really means it or is just putting up a brave front. "I'll see you more when your business finally gets going and you don't have to suck up to all these men in suits," Lance assures him.

Touched, feeling as though he just fell in love with Lance a bit more with how understanding he was, he smiles, "I love you,"

Lance giggles, "I love you too. So go knock the socks off those business men. I'll see you when I see you,"

No tomorrow, no tonight, just at some point- because they both knew Keith's promises meant very little at this moment. That fact hurt, but Keith swallows it down.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Again, I'm so sorry, Lance. I hope you weren't planning anything big or had to cancel anything because of this,"

"I actually made dinner, so no it wasn't anything big. Just an evening at home is what I thought we could do. It just leaves more spaghetti for me."  
Keith mentally groans in distress. He loved Lance's home made spaghetti- how was he possibly missing this?

"That sounds amazing right now,"

Lance purposively takes bite, drawing out a delighted humming noise, "You are missing out. My cooking skills know no bounds in the world of spaghetti~"

"I am," he agrees. There is a long pause that turned into a moment too long, "Lance?"

There was no reply at first.

"Lance, baby? You still there?"

"I uh- Yeah."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," he tells him. "You do what you have to do, sweet heart. I love you,"

Keith can already see the men beginning to enter the room. In any other case, he would have stayed to ask what was on Lance's mind, but he could see Shiro waving for him to come back. He thought that if he could finish this meeting soon, he could surprise Lance and be home within the next hour or so. "Yeah, I gotta go. You sure you are okay? You aren't mad?"

"It wasn't a big deal, Keith. Just some dinner. I'll put the leftovers in the fridge and we can try to have lunch together or something," Lance assures him with a bubbly voice. Keith, like a fool, believed him.

With a kissing sound, he said goodbye and hung up.

He should have kept talking to him.

He should have gone home to be with him.

He should have thought it was strange how Lance was quiet for so long.

* * *

"It wasn't a big deal, Keith. Just some dinner. I'll put the leftovers in the fridge and we can try to have lunch together or something," Lance assures him.

There is a pause on the other end of the line before Keith mumbles a goodbye to him and makes a kiss noise. Not much of a goodbye, but Lance couldn't really complain at this point.

Listening to the to silence of his phone, Lance slowly lowered his palm back to his lap. Sinking into his chair, he sighs, looking over the set up he had spent hours making.

Candle lit dinner surrounded by roses and quiet music.

He had hand made the dinner, gotten Keith's favorite wine- hell, he even dressed up all nice to surprise Keith when he got home.

He lied when he said it wasn't a big deal to him. Reaching into a pocket, Lance pulled out a small box. Popping it open he stared at the ring inside.

They say third time's the charm, but they just bombed their fifth attempt. Was the universe just against him getting Keith to himself long enough to propose? Was it so hard?

He had even gotten Hunk involved in this, asking for him to help pick out the ring with him 2 months ago. Since coming into possession of it, there had been nothing but problems in them meeting up.

Keith was just too busy. When Lance did manage to see him, he was so tired- he couldn't bare to take more of Keith's sleep away.

Lance knew this is what Keith wanted, and he did his best to be supportive and understanding. The first month was easy and the second one got a little tricky. They were rounding month three here soon, and Lance was feeling a little… neglected?

He shouldn't be.

Keith still loved him.

He just had to be patient.

Sighing, knowing he should get all of this cleaned up, he blew out the candles. He didn't want Keith to come home to see all of this and feel guilty- especially after telling him it was all right.

Quickly brushing the petals into a little pile to sweep up later, he went to grab the broom. Navigating their quiet home, located out in the suburbs of the city, Lance purposively clicked on some depressing music to listen to.

Of course, the first thing to come on was Celine Dion's All by myself.

He dramatically sang along to the tune, hoping that accepting his loneliness would make some of the pain go away. It wasn't really working.

Turning the music off, Lance paused at the sound of creaking down the hall. Recalling noise from earlier during his call with Keith, he turned on the hallway light and peered down it. Thinking it was their cats, he clicked his teeth to get them to come forward.

"Blue, Red," he says, "Come give me some sugar in my time of need," he whines at them. Not the most elaborate names, but Lance thought it fit them. Rounding the corner, he peered into his living room to find nothing. He stepped in to squint under the couch and around them, knowing their cats like to lollygag around the premises. "Blue? Red?" he inquired. Locating Blue below the chair in the corner of the room, he smiled at her. "Hey beautiful," he was shocked when she hissed at him. "That isn't nice," he scolded, "What did I do?"

A moment later she shot out, scrambling past his knees. Feeling a chill creep up his spine he turns to follow her. She ran past the window, which had been lifted, opened to the world outside. Not recalling leaving the window open, he closed and relocked it.

Officially freaked, always hating being home alone, he quickly scurried back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. He had just managed to grab the plates when the creaking noise returned.

When he turned, he screamed.

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUNNNNN**

 **I'm going to try my best with this mystery story, so hopefully you all like it! :D**


	2. He's gone

Keith could hardly breathe when he stumbled outside. It was close to midnight, the meeting drawn to a close when he received a phone call from 911.

Stepping out to take it, not sure what this could be about, he was surprised to realize it was Matt. A friend from college, he had taken work at the police station near Lance and his house. His old friend was quiet, explaining to Keith the best he could with what information he currently had. Keith's whole world shattered at the mention of his house.

He didn't listen to much after that before he hung up to get his things.

Scrambling back into the room to grab the keys to his car, Shiro steady hand clasped his shoulder and stopped him. With a gentle tone, he asked to know what was going on. He didn't have a clue- just knew he needed to get home, now.

Shiro didn't need anything else before he was nodding, dismissing the men and apologizing, stating that a family emergency had come up.

"I'll drive,"

"I can-"

Shiro gave him a look, "I'll. Drive."

Not in the right state of mind to drive, he nodded his head slowly, allowing the old man to take the wheel. Together they sped through traffic lights and down the highway as fast as Shiro dare go. A few minutes later, the horrible blue and red lights welcomed them, crashing down the full weight of the situation.

"No way..." Shiro mumbled. Parking a little ways down the street, Keith could already see what appeared to be yellow police tape surrounding his house.

No…

He shook his head, refusing to believe this was happening.

"Keith, wait-!" Shiro struggled to tug off his seatbelt, barely able to call out before Keith was throwing himself from the car and sprinting down the sidewalk.

He pushed his way through his neighbors, ducking below the tape and screaming at the first cop who tried to stop him.

Quickly realizing that Keith seemed to live in the building, he motioned for a few other police officers to step forward, telling him that letting him inside might tamper with vital evidence to the crime.

Keith's blood went cold at the mention of crime.

"What are you talking about? What happened?!" he screamed at their faces, "Where is Lance?!"

"Keith!" Matt stepped out of the house, running up to meet him.

"Matt," Keith reached for him, gripping his sleeves, "Where is he? Where is he?!"

"Keith, calm down- you are only making the situation worse," Matt attempts to say

"Make what situation worse?!"

"Matt!" Shiro was quick to duck under the tape when he had a chance, running over to the two. Matt gives him a confused look to why he was there, but doesn't dawdle on it. "What's going on? What happened?" he scanned the house, pale and wanting answers.

"We got a call from a neighbor, Keith. Something about screaming and crashing, and by the time we arrived, the place was trashed. The entire bottom floor is a mess and we haven't been able to find Lance. We aren't even sure if he was home-"

"He was!" Keith roars at his face, "He was at home! He was… he waiting for me," Keith's voice drops, tight with pain.

Matt's eyes soften, and he nods, "No one is in the house anymore. One of the neighbors mentioned seeing a vehicle leave the premises and we are still talking to them, but that is all the information we have at the moment. An investigation is underway and the police are looking into it. You can come inside, but until the police have what they need, please don't touch anything,"

Keith nodded vigorously, just wanting to get inside and look.

With Matt's hand on his arm to lead him inside, he took his porch steps with shaky knees. To his horror, his house was trashed. He couldn't even see the upstairs, but that didn't matter- he got a good idea just from the first floor.

Pictures had fallen or had been tossed from the wall, covering the hallway in glass, leading all the way towards the kitchen, where the table had been flipped. The contents that had been previously ontop of it were scattered across the way- candles, food, flower petals?

Keith wasn't even sure what to make of the scene. A break in of some sort was evident, but Lance wasn't inside?

"Geez..." Shiro ran a hand down his face, shaking his head in disbelief. It had felt surreal, having been here a week before, when everything was in perfect order. Lance prided himself on keeping their house in its top condition...

"Wha…" Keith swallows thickly, "What happened...?" he took a few steps in, but couldn't bare anything more than that. Their house had been attacked, and he didn't have a single chance to stop it. No, that wasn't true, was it? He could have stopped it had he been here hours ago when he promised he would be.

A few men were taking pictures towards the other side of the room, laying down certain numbers as if they considered the things near them to be clues- vital evidence to this strange case.

"I hope you don't mind Shiro, but I called Allura over," Matt tells him softly. Shiro turns abruptly, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Why?" he didn't want her to have to see all of this. Matt signals for another police officer to come forward. To their surprise and relief, Keith's cat Red following at the officer's feet.

"Red," Keith leans down to his cat, who meowed at him, pressing up lovingly to his leg. With a little scratch to her head, he noticed a slight limp in her leg, "What happened to you, girl?" She meowed and looked up. Keith lifted his gaze to the other officer, who held a blanket in his arms.

Matt sighs sadly, "I knew she was a vet and, well…" the bundle was placed into Keith's arms, and he inhaled sharply

"Blue..."

"Whatever happened, she got caught up in it. If there was an intruder she might have attacked them and got hurt in the process," Matt says, not sure what else to say.

Keith cradled her close, lifting the planet to reveal the pool of blood along her side. She had been hit, and from the looks of it, her side had been punctured with some glass. He didn't need any proof to know that if Lance were in danger, she would have leaped forward to attack.

"We found her in the living room. Red was there watching over her- almost wouldn't let us near her till I showed up,"

Keith nodded numbly, petting the top of Lance's cat delicately. "You did good, Blue. You too Red," he tells them, "But… What about Lance?"

"Like I said Keith, he isn't here."

"But he was," he insists.

Matt nods, "I think he was too, but he isn't anymore. Whatever happened…" he trails off, knowing better than to just make assumptions, but they were all thinking it. It wasn't easy to state a kidnapping, but that seemed to be the only believable option here.

"Who did this?" Keith choked.

"We are still figuring that out. Was Lance acting strange at all today?" Matt lifts out a notepad and a pen, ready to get a statement from him and ask some common questions all people were asked during these situations.

Keith's tongue felt thick, "I was suppose to be here for dinner, but I canceled."

"Why is that?" Matt asked

Keith inhales, "I had a meeting. W-With Shiro," Shiro nods next to him.

"For the company," he adds

Matt nods knowingly, jotting that down, "Did Lance have anyone over? Was he completely alone when you last contacted him?"

Keith nodded, but realized a moment later he couldn't fully confirm that, "I-I think he was? It sounded like it was just him. He was waiting for me to come home for dinner. He said… He was all right." he thought he might cry, his voice cracking, "H-He was-"

"Maybe," Shiro quickly interjects, "We should hold off on questions for a bit?"

Matt goes pale, realizing his mistake, "Yeah. Yes of course." he apologizes, then steps back. "Go get some air, Keith. We still need to talk to you but take your time, okay?"

Keith can't even nod before Shiro is trying to steer him back out the house. His feet wouldn't move, eyes locked with his dining room. He had been here just this morning when everything was fine.

He hated himself.

He hated himself.

He knew that it obviously wasn't okay that he had missed a date with Lance again, but he didn't do anything about it. Lance told him that it hadn't been a big deal, but even in this chaos, he could see the work Lance had put into the setup before it was destroyed.

Stumbling forward, his legs moving on his own, he approached the table, staring down at it in dismay. Shiro and Matt let him go, knowing it was fine so long as he didn't get in the way of the investigation.

Still holding Blue close to his chest, Red following obediently at his heels, he bent down, lowering his head just to breathe. It was so hard to suddenly.

This had to be a dream. Some horrible nightmare.

Why didn't he come home? Why didn't he keep talking to Lance? Why- god, he could ask all these questions but nothing would change what happened!

With a watery exhale, his shoulders shuddered. Just think it through... Who would do this? Who would break into their home just to grab Lance? They had no enemies from what he could think of. Keith had pissed some people off, but nothing bad enough for them to resort to this. And Lance was the nicest guy he had ever met. No one would want to hurt him. So if it was just to steal belonging, why would they take him? Did they even take anything else? Did they come in here to steal something or was it all just to take Lance? Was he even taken? Had he just run off to get away?

Had...

The thought swirled in his mind. He didn't want to think about it, but what if Lance had done this all himself? What if he had gotten so mad at Keith he destroyed everything in his rage? He might have left afterward to cool or just... just left him.

NO.

No, Lance wasn't like that, and he refused even to think that was an option.

Cradling their beloved cat in his arms, he glanced at Red, who blinked at him. "Do you know who did this?" he whispered weakly. Red meowed, her tail batting back and forth. She moved, her paws patting over flower petals before swiping over a plate. It caught his attention, and he looked down.

There was something there.

It was black and square. A box?

It peeked out from below the destruction. Not recognizing it, he reached out, lifting a broken plate to reveal it fully.

His stomach sank.

"Please, no..."

The box felt heavy between his fingers as he brought it up to his face. He knew what it was before he popped it open with his thumb.

"God..." His vision blurred as his voice choked out. Shiro was rushing to him when his entire body swayed catching him before he fell over.

A ring.

Lance was going to propose to him tonight. And he missed it.

Now, Lance was gone.

* * *

It is so painful to write this story...

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Space Mullet:** Oh my goodness, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too~!

 **Ewink18:** AHHH! You are the best, thank you!

 **Adrainna Agray:** Friend, I am blushing so much right now. You are so kind and nice to me, and I'm so blessed to get to know you. Thank you so much!


End file.
